Application layer-based single sign on

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are provided for implementing application layer security. According to one embodiment, an application layer packet is received by a network appliance and one or more information fields, selected based on an application type associated with the packet, are used to identify an associated end user. Then, security rules that match the traffic pattern, traffic content and identified end user can be applied to the packet. Identification of end users based on application layer information allows different security rules to be implemented for end users or groups thereof. Application of security rules based on identification of an end user based on application layer information can also facilitate implementation of an application-layer-based single sign-on (SSO) process.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Contained herein is material that is subject to copyright protection.The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction ofthe patent disclosure by any person as it appears in the Patent andTrademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves allrights to the copyright whatsoever. Copyright © 2013, Fortinet, Inc.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to the field ofcomputer networks. In particular, systems and methods of the presentdisclosure relate to implementation of application layer security byidentifying end users and implementing security rules based onapplication layer information.

2. Description of the Related Art

With users becoming more active on the Internet, concerns relating tonetwork security have grown significantly, not only from trafficoriginating from outside an enterprise network, but also for trafficoriginating from within an organization's network. Multiple networkappliances, such as routers, firewalls, network intrusion detectionsystems, among other access control mechanisms, have been implemented todetermine the type and characteristics of traffic that are valid andallowed to be forwarded into or out of a protected network. Networkappliances are configured to define and use one or more security rulesthat indicate actions to be performed by the network appliance whennetwork packets are received by them, wherein each security rule caninclude a matching criteria, which when met, specifies a desired actionto be performed. For instance, a security rule can be: “every week day,after 7 PM to 6 AM” all traffic from external interfaces to internalinterfaces should be handled in a particular manner (e.g., blocked,disallowed or dropped). Security rules therefore define actions (such asblock, allow or other advanced operations, such as scan traffic orbypass traffic) to be performed when corresponding criteria are met.

Most existing network appliances define security rules based on networklayer (layer 3) information, such as source Internet Protocol (IP)address, destination IP address, source port, destination port, amongother such information, wherein such security rules are configured toallow, block, rate limit, or perform any other defined function onreceived packets. Some network appliances also implement security rulesbased on an application type with which the received packet isassociated. Such security rules are limited in that they lack user-levelgranularity, thereby not providing customized security rule settingsthat can distinguish among end users of an organization, for instance.While there are network security appliances that provide extraordinaryflexibility by allowing scripts to be written for processing packets,the price of this flexibility is increased complexity and burden on thenetwork administrator. Therefore, there is a need for systems andmethods that allow for implementation of application layer securitybased on end users and permit the end users to achieve single sign onfor network transactions.

SUMMARY

Methods and systems are provided for implementing application layersecurity. In one embodiment, end users may be identified based onapplication layer information within received packets, and new orexisting security rules based on identified end users and/or otherparameters of interest may be employed to handle such packets.Customized end-user based application layer security can therefore beimplemented that allows flexibility in defining security rules and easein packet handling. The application layer security mechanisms describedherein can also be used within an enterprise to limit or authorizeaccess to network resources, for example.

According to one embodiment, systems and methods are provided foridentifying end users and a type of application being run by a clientdevice used by such end users based on application layer informationcontained within packets originated by the client device. Appropriatesecurity rules at a user or group-level can then be applied based on thetype of application and the identity of the end user. Application layerpackets are received and one or more information fields in each packetare used to identify an associated end user. Then, security rules thatmatch the traffic pattern, traffic content and identified end user canbe applied to the packets. Identification of end users based onapplication layer information allows different security rules to beimplemented for end users or groups thereof. Application of securityrules based on identification of an end user based on application layerinformation can also facilitate implementation of anapplication-layer-based single sign-on (SSO) process.

According to one embodiment, system of the present invention comprisesan application type detection module, application field retrievalmodule, end user identification module, security rule identificationmodule, and security policy implementation module. According to oneembodiment, application type detection module is configured to receivean application layer packet and determine an application type with whichthe application layer packet is associated. For a set of packets thatform part of a traffic, application type detection module can also beconfigured to determine the application type of the traffic, such as butnot limited to whether the traffic is of HTTP, SIP, SMTP, RTP, SQL, SSH,FTP, SMTP, HTTPS, SFTP, SSL, TLS, POP, or any other application type.

According to an embodiment, application field retrieval moduleconfigured to retrieve one or more information fields based on theapplication type, wherein the retrieved information fields areindicative of an end user with which the application layer packet isassociated. In an implementation, application field retrieval module canbe configured to analyze each application layer packet and retrieveapplication information such as one or more application fields from thepacket, which can help identify the end user of the packet. In aninstance, each packet of HTTP application type includes an informationfield XFF (“X-Forwarding For”) that indicates the IP address of the enduser. Similarly, each packet of SIP application type includes aninformation field SIP address, which indicates the IP address of the enduser. Similarly, analysis of each packet, based on its respectiveapplication type, can help in getting access to the end user of thepacket.

End user identification module can be configured to determine identityof the end user based on the retrieved information fields. As mentionedabove, based on specific information fields such as XFF, SIP address,identity (such as IP address) of the end user can be determined.According to one embodiment, security rule identification module isconfigured to identify one or more applicable security rules based onthe determined application type and identity of the end user. Multipleother parameters such as traffic characteristics, timestamp, and networklevel packet details, among others can also be incorporated to identifythe applicable security rules. In an embodiment, a security ruledatabase can be configured in the present system, wherein the databasecan include multiple security rules that are applicable to differentapplication types, such that for a given application type, relevantsecurity rules can be identified and extracted by the security ruleidentification module based on the identity of the end user.

According to another embodiment, security policy implementation moduleis configured to apply one or more applicable security rules to theapplication layer packet as a security policy in order to implement thepolicy on the packet/traffic. Other features of embodiments of thepresent disclosure will be apparent from accompanying drawings and fromdetailed description that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the Figures, similar components and/or features may have the samereference label. Further, various components of the same type may bedistinguished by following the reference label with a second label thatdistinguishes among the similar components. If only the first referencelabel is used in the specification, the description is applicable to anyone of the similar components having the same first reference labelirrespective of the second reference label.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary network architecture in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary modules for implementing application layersecurity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a proxy environment for implementing applicationlayer-based single sign-on in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary architecture and a component interactiondiagram for an application-layer based single sign on system inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart for application layer security processingin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary computer system in which or with whichembodiments of the present invention may be utilized.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods andsystems for implementing application layer security. In one embodiment,end users may be identified based on application layer informationwithin received packets and new or existing security rules based on endusers and/or other parameters of interest may be employed to handle suchpackets.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the presentinvention. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art thatembodiments of the present invention may be practiced without some ofthese specific details.

Embodiments of the present invention include various steps, which willbe described below. The steps may be performed by hardware components ormay be embodied in machine-executable instructions, which may be used tocause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with theinstructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, steps may be performedby a combination of hardware, software, firmware and/or by humanoperators.

Embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a computerprogram product, which may include a machine-readable storage mediumtangibly embodying thereon instructions, which may be used to program acomputer (or other electronic devices) to perform a process. Themachine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, fixed (hard)drives, magnetic tape, floppy diskettes, optical disks, compact discread-only memories (CD-ROMs), and magneto-optical disks, semiconductormemories, such as ROMs, PROMs, random access memories (RAMs),programmable read-only memories (PROMs), erasable PROMs (EPROMs),electrically erasable PROMs (EEPROMs), flash memory, magnetic or opticalcards, or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable forstoring electronic instructions (e.g., computer programming code, suchas software or firmware).

Various methods described herein may be practiced by combining one ormore machine-readable storage media containing the code according to thepresent invention with appropriate standard computer hardware to executethe code contained therein. An apparatus for practicing variousembodiments of the present invention may involve one or more computers(or one or more processors within a single computer) and storage systemscontaining or having network access to computer program(s) coded inaccordance with various methods described herein, and the method stepsof the invention could be accomplished by modules, routines,subroutines, or subparts of a computer program product.

If the specification states a component or feature “may”, “can”,“could”, or “might” be included or have a characteristic, thatparticular component or feature is not required to be included or havethe characteristic.

Although the present disclosure has been described with the purpose ofconducting network auditing, it should be appreciated that the same hasbeen done merely to illustrate the invention in an exemplary manner andany other purpose or function for which the explained structure orconfiguration can be used, is covered within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Embodiments of present disclosure and their advantages can be understoodby reference to FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary network architecture 100 conceptuallyshowing a network environment in which a single sign-on service and flowof network traffic packets may take place. As shown in FIG. 1, networkarchitecture 100 comprises one or more computing devices such as Laptop102-1, PC 102-2, Internet Radio 102-3, Web Terminal 102-4, . . . ,102-n, collectively referred to as computing device(s) 102 hereinafter,which are operatively coupled to each other through a Local Area Network(LAN) 104. LAN 104 can be configured to connect one or more computingdevices 102 to Internet 110 by means of a network appliance 108. Networkappliance 108 can include one or more of a switch, router, hub, gatewaydevice, firewall, among other such networking devices, or combinationsthereof, that enable access to Internet 110. According to oneembodiment, network appliance 108 separates the external computingenvironment, represented by Internet 110 from the internal computingenvironment represented by computing devices 102. Network appliance 108can be configured to apply security rules to packets exchanged withinthe internal network and between the internal and external networks. Forexample, packets may be filtered, classified and/or evaluated in orderto determine whether the packet should allowed, blocked, or any otherdesired action should to be taken to handle the packet. According to oneembodiment, appliance 108 can be operatively coupled to or canincorporate a security rules database (not shown) that comprises rulesand setting for processing and scanning a packet for determination of anappropriate action thereon.

According to one embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1, LAN 104 can beoperatively coupled with a network appliance 108 through a proxy 106.Proxy 106 may be a virtual or physical device and may be incorporatedwithin network appliance 108 or may be implemented separately. In oneembodiment, proxy 106 is configured to implement a single sign-on (SSO)for multiple users such that, once configured, the proxy 106 manageslogin idiosyncrasies of the applications that the users want to access.Further, SSO provides access control that allows a user to login once tothe proxy 106, using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or otherappropriate protocol, and then gain access to one or more gateways,servers or other such entities, without logging in again. Single sign-on(S SO) bypasses the normal user authentication process and insteadtrusts that the proxy 106 has authenticated the user. Proxy 106 not onlycomprises login information of users to facilitate managing sessions andaccess rights, but can also act as a central network and securitymanager for implementing network policies. According to one embodiment,as proxy 106 is configured to authenticate each user, proxy 106 can alsobe configured to apply security rules for each user based on login anduser characteristics.

According to one embodiment, network appliance 108 can be configured toreceive an application layer packet (e.g., process application layer(layer 7) information associated with a packet) and determine anapplication type with which the application layer packet is associated.Based on the application type, one or more information fields can beretrieved/extracted from the application layer information containedwithin the packet. In one embodiment, the information fieldsretrieved/extracted are individually or collectively indicative of anidentity of an end user with which the application layer packet isassociated. Network appliance 108 can further be configured to determinethe identity of the end user based on the retrieved information fieldsand then use a security rule database, which is operatively connectedthereto, to identify one or more applicable security rules based on thedetermined application type and the identity of the end user. Accordingto another embodiment, network appliance 108 can further be configuredto apply the one or more applicable security rules, retrieved from thesecurity rule database, to the application layer packet.

FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary functional modules of a network appliance202 for implementing application layer security in a system 200 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. It should beappreciated that while the present example is described with referenceto specific exemplary functional modules, more or fewer modules can beused depending upon the particular implementation. Furthermore, while inthe context of the present example, the exemplary functional modules aredescribed as if they are embodied within network appliance 202, one ormore of the functional modules may be implemented within and/or storedin another device/system (e.g., proxy 106) that is coupled incommunication with network appliance 202.

In the present example, network appliance 202 comprises an applicationtype detection module 204, an application field retrieval module 206, anend user identification module 208, a security rule identificationmodule 210 and a security policy implementation module 212. Networkappliance 202 can be implemented using one or more processors for beingoperational over a network, wherein the one or more processors can beconfigured to implement the components of system 200. Moreover, thenetwork appliance 202 may be wired, wireless, or a combination of wiredand wireless.

According to one embodiment, application type detection module 204 isconfigured to receive an application layer packet and determine anapplication type with which the application layer packet is associated.As those skilled in the art will appreciate, there are numerous ways ofdetermining an application type of a packet. For example, theapplication type can be determined based on the port for which thepacket is meant (port scanning), type of protocol being used, pattern ofdata packets, signature matching, among other parameters. Commonapplication types include HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), SessionInitiation Protocol (SIP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP),Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP), Structured Query Language (SQL),Real-Time Publish-Subscribe Protocol (RTPS), Secure Shell protocol(SSH), File transfer Protocol (FTP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol(SMTP), HTTPS, Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), Secure SocketsLayer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS), Session Layer protocols(SLP), Presentation Layer protocols (PLP), Post Office Protocol (POP),Advanced Program-to-Program Communication (APPC), Advanced MessageQueuing Protocol (AMQP), Coherent File Distribution Protocol (CFDP),Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP), Data Distribution Service(DDS), Endpoint Handle space Redundancy Protocol (ENRP), UserInformation Protocol (UIP), File Transfer Access and Management (FTAM),Packet-Based Multimedia Communications System (H.323), Internet RelayChat Protocol (IRCP), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), LinePrinter Daemon Protocol (LPD), Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions(MIME), Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME), NetworkFile System (NFS), Network Information Service (NIS), Network NewsTransfer Protocol (NNTP), National Transportation Communications forIntelligent Transportation System Protocol (NTCIP), Network TimeProtocol (NTP), Peer Name Resolution Protocol (PNRP), Remote DesktopProtocol (RDP), Reliable Event Logging Protocol (RELP), RoutingInformation Protocol (RIP), Remote Login in UNIX Systems (Rlogin),Remote Procedure Call (RPC), Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), RealTime Publish Subscribe (RTPS), Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP),Session Announcement Protocol (SAP), Session Description Protocol (SDP),Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Service Location Protocol (SLP),Server Message Block (SMB), Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP), SecureSMS Messaging Protocol (SSMS), Transaction Capabilities Application Part(TCAP), Tabular Data Stream (TDS), Time Stamp Protocol (TSP), VirtualTerminal Protocol (VTP), Remote Directory Access Protocol, MessageHandling Service Protocol, Directory Access Protocol (DAP), andExtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP). It should beappreciated that any other application type not mentioned above is alsocompletely within the scope of the present disclosure.

According to an embodiment, application field retrieval module 206 isconfigured to extract the value of one or more information fields fromthe application layer information contained in the packet based on theapplication type determined by module 204. The retrieved/extractedinformation field values can individually or collectively be indicativeof an end user with which the application layer packet is associated.The retrieved information fields can include, but are not limited to,one or more of X-Forwarded-For (XFF), X-Forwarded-Proto,Front-End-HTTPs, X-Wap-Profile, X-Requested-With, SIP address, andX-Remote-Address. For instance, X-Forwarded-For (XFF) header field is astandard for identifying the originating IP address of a clientconnecting to a web server through an HTTP proxy or a load balancer. Anynetwork packet of HTTP application type would therefore contain an XFFheader field, which can help identify the end user details of thenetwork packet based on the originating IP address of the clientconnecting to the Internet through an HTTP proxy or load balancer, forexample. Similarly, for packets having SIP as the application type, SIPaddress information field can indicate the IP address of the packet.

According to an embodiment, end user identification module 208 isconfigured to determine the identity of the end user (e.g., an IPaddress of the client device, a user name or the like) based onretrieved information fields from the application layer. The XFF HTTPheader field of an HTTP application-type packet can, for instance,indicate the IP address of the client device being used by the end-user.According to another embodiment, apart from the end-user identity,module 208 can also be configured to identify further details andcharacteristics of the end user and also of the packet in question. Inthe event that the network appliance works with a proxy, module 208 canfurther be configured to determine the trustworthiness of the proxy inindicating the correct originating IP address and not acting as ananonymizing service. In one embodiment, therefore, Module 208 tries toidentify the correct and actual IP address of the client device thatoriginated the packet in question by retrieving appropriate informationfields/headers from the application layer information contained withinthe packet.

According to an embodiment, security rule identification module 210 isconfigured to identify one or more applicable security rules based onthe determined application type and the identity of the end user.According to one embodiment, all or part of the security rules can bestored in a security rule database that resides within or is operativelycoupled with network appliance 202, wherein, based on the applicationtype detected by application type detection module 204 and end useridentity information determined by end user identification module 208,the database can be queried to identify applicable security rules.According to another embodiment, instead of selecting one or moreapplicable security rules, security rule identification module 210 canfurther be configured to design or update existing security rules so asto implement the most suitable and desired rules for the end user inquestion. Security rules can therefore be customized as per the needs,requirements and security threat levels, which, when implemented, caneither block, allow or perform any other desired action on the packetsuch that the user's access to network service is limited by the definedsecurity rules.

According to one embodiment, a security policy implementation module 212is configured to apply the one or more applicable security rules to theapplication layer packet. According to one embodiment, even for a givenend user, the same or a different set of security rules can beimplemented depending upon the context of the packet and other trafficcharacteristics. Implementation of security rules can include blockingof a certain IP address or a range of IP addresses, which are predatoryto the system, or allow certain specific domain names to accesssystems/servers, or allow access to only some specified types of domainnames or domain name extension like .edu or .mil etc.

Single sign-on (SSO) can take many forms, but a preferred architectureis for a user to authenticate to a centrally managed system, and forapplications to trust the central system for identity information aboutthe user rather than re-authenticating the user. SSO is mechanismwhereby a single action of user authentication and authorization canpermit a user to access a set of computers, systems, resources and/orapplications, without the need to enter multiple passwords. As SSO istypically implemented using a proxy, configuration of network appliance202 with an SSO implemented proxy can help define applicable securityrules for end users for each packet incoming through the proxy.

FIG. 3 illustrates a proxy environment 300 for implementing applicationlayer-based single sign-on in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. In one embodiment a SSO process can be implemented ina machine-accessible and a non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium in the form of instructions, which can be executed by one or moreprocessors within a network, for instance. The one or more processorscan be configured to implement the various components of the SSO system,wherein the system implements, among other functions, a singleauthentication service.

According to one embodiment, the SSO process can be implemented on aproxy device 302, which may be a network appliance in accordance withthe above description. Proxy device 302 can be operatively coupled withmultiple end-user devices 304, and further configured to run a proxyservice 306 on devices 304. Proxy device 302 can be a gateway, a forwardproxy, a transparent proxy, a reverse proxy, among other known devices,and can be logically and/or physically interposed between devices 304and protected services 308 to require that users of all devices 304authenticate themselves with the proxy device 302 before having accessto protected services 308. In one embodiment, proxy device 302 managesthe devices 304 by enabling SSO capabilities and controls access toprotected services 308.

According to one embodiment, proxy service 306 can be implemented andcan reside in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and may executeon the proxy device 302. According to one embodiment, proxy service 306can be configured to manage multiple devices 304 as a single environmentor as one or more logical entities. Furthermore, proxy service 306 canbe configured to allow authentication of multiple devices 304 of thesingle environment to take place once and allow the devices 304 to be apart of the session thereafter without requiring re-authorization.According to another embodiment, proxy service 306 can be furtherconfigured to manage a configuration file for the single environmenthaving the IP address and/or DNS names for each of the multiple devices304 and an environment identifier application type such asX-Forwarded-For (XFF), X-Forwarded-Proto, Front-End-HTTPs,X-Wap-Profile, X-Requested-With, and/or X-Remote-Address etc. for thesingle environment.

According to another embodiment, proxy service 306 can also beconfigured to establish multiple communication sessions between one ormore of devices 304 and protected resources/services 308. For instance,proxy service 306 can be configured to selectively and dynamicallyestablish communication sessions between each of the multiple devices304 and the protected services 308 once an authenticated principalattempts to access the protected resources 308 from each of the multipledevices 304. According to an embodiment, SSO system 300 can include anidentity service 310, wherein the service 310 can be implemented on theproxy device 302 and can be configured to interact with the proxyservice 306 to authenticate principals for the SSO to the singleenvironment. Identity service 310 can further provide implementation ofsecurity rules for the SSO service and decide whether a principal is tobe granted access to the protected resources/services 308.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary architecture and component interaction diagramfor an exemplary SSO system 400 in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. Architecture of system 400 can be used to implementvarious possible forms of methods and systems described herein. It is tobe understood that architecture illustrated by FIG. 4 is merelyexemplary and not intended to be limiting.

FIG. 4 illustrates a user 408 operatively coupled with two machines M1410-1 and M2 410-2. System 400 further illustrates four protectedresources R1 412-1, R2 412-2, R3 412-3 and R4 412-4 that are operativelycoupled with and accessible to machines 410 and user 408 through agateway/proxy 402. It is to be noted that even though the presentillustration is described with reference to two machines and fourprotected resources, any number of machines or resources can beaccommodated depending upon the particular implementation.

According to one embodiment, resources 412 are accessible via theInternet, and machines 410 form part of an internal network that makeuse of such resources 412 after authentication by proxy 402. Accordingto another embodiment, gateway/proxy 402 includes a gateway proxyservice 404 that is configured to store a configuration file containingspecific information about the environment of the present system.Configuration file can be manually generated beforehand and installed onthe gateway/proxy 402 or can be automatically and dynamically generatedby a utility having a user interface. Configuration file can includeeither the Domain Name System (DNS) name or an Internet Protocol (IP)address for every machine 410 in each environment along with associatedenvironment identification (ID).

In an implementation, user 408, through machine M2 410-2, wishes toaccess protected resource R2 412-2. A request for this resource can bemade through the gateway/proxy 402, wherein, once the proxy 402 receivesthe request, the gateway/proxy service 404 can parse the configurationfile and store the parsed data within a file for local access on thegateway/proxy 402. Service 404 on the gateway/proxy 402 can then searchfor an associated session, which would not exist if the user 408 has notbeen authenticated with the proxy 402. Data from the configuration filecan then be searched for application fields such as XFF field, throughwhich the IP address or DNS name of machine M2 410-2 can be retrievedand matched and implemented with the identified/applicable securityrules. If the IP address or DNS name of machine M2 410-2 is found andmatches with the identified security rules, it is interpreted that themachine is in the proxy environment and a session needed is then createdfor each machine in that environment. According to one embodiment, incase a machine 410 has not been authenticated by proxy 402, service 404of the gateway/proxy 402 can redirect the machine 410 to authenticatethrough an Identity Service 406, which can be configured to parse the IPaddress of the machine 410 along with evaluation of othercharacteristics of the user 408 and make the user (including machines410 associated thereto) a part of the environment.

According to an embodiment, during the authentication process of theidentity service 406, user 408 can enter authentication credentials,which if accepted, can create a session for each of the machine in theenvironment. According to another embodiment, when a user 408 accesses aprotected resource from another machine, a session could be created onthe fly (dynamically and real time); and therefore new sessions are onlycreated when they are needed (as needed basis).

FIG. 5 illustrates a method 500 for implementing application layersecurity processing in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. At block 510, a network appliance (e.g., network appliance108) receives an application layer packet. The application layer packetcan be a packet originated by an application running on a client device(e.g., laptop 102-1) being used by a user of an internal network (e.g.,LAN 104) that is coupled to the network appliance by means of a proxy(e.g., proxy 106) as a single sign-on process. At block 520, the networkappliance determines an application type with which the applicationlayer packet is associated. At block 530, network appliance retrievesone or more information fields that are indicative of an end user withwhich the application layer packet is associated. Retrieved informationfields can include, but are not limited to, one or more ofX-Forwarded-For (XFF), X-Forwarded-Proto, Front-End-HTTPs,X-Wap-Profile, X-Requested-With, and/or X-Remote-Address fields.

At block 540, the network appliance determines the identity of the userbased on the retrieved information fields, wherein the user can beidentified by the source IP address of the client device, domain name,port name, among other attributes. In an implementation, networkappliance can be configured with a proxy in case of an SSO session,wherein the proxy includes a list of all IP address of machines thathave been authenticated thereby. At block 550, the network applianceidentifies one or more applicable security rules based on the determinedapplication type and the identity of the end user. Applicable securityrules can be customized as per end users needs, requirements, or threatlevels and can be stored in a security rule database.

At block 560, the network appliance applies the applicable securityrules to the application layer packet such that the packet istransmitted, blocked, or configured to perform in any other desiredmanner.

FIG. 6 is an example of a computer system 600 with which embodiments ofthe present disclosure may be utilized. Computer system 600 mayrepresent or form a part of a network device (e.g., network appliance108 or proxy 106) or other network security device, a server or a clientworkstation.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include various steps, which havebeen described above. A variety of these steps may be performed byhardware components or may be tangibly embodied on a computer-readablestorage medium in the form of machine-executable instructions, which maybe used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processorprogrammed with instructions to perform these steps. Alternatively, thesteps may be performed by a combination of hardware, software, and/orfirmware.

As shown, computer system 600 includes a bus 630, a processor 605,communication port 610, a main memory 615, a removable storage media640, a read only memory 620 and a mass storage 625. A person skilled inthe art will appreciate that computer system 600 may include more thanone processor and communication ports.

Examples of processor 605 include, but are not limited to, an Intel®Xeon® or Itanium® processor(s), or AMD®, Opteron® or Athlon MP®processor(s), Motorola® lines of processors, FortiSOC™ system on a chipprocessors or other future processors. Processor 605 may include variousmodules associated with messaging security gateway 200 as described withreference to FIG. 2. For example, processor 605 may include one or moreof mail reception module 202, domain name validation module 204,validity update module 206 and send/discard module 208.

Communication port 610 can be any of an RS-232 port for use with a modembased dialup connection, a 10/100 Ethernet port, a Gigabit or 10 Gigabitport using copper or fiber, a serial port, a parallel port, or otherexisting or future ports. Communication port 610 may be chosen dependingon a network, such a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN),or any network to which computer system 600 connects.

Memory 615 can be Random Access Memory (RAM), or any other dynamicstorage device commonly known in the art. Read only memory 620 can beany static storage device(s) such as, but not limited to, a ProgrammableRead Only Memory (PROM) chips for storing static information such asstart-up or BIOS instructions for processor 605.

Mass storage 625 may be any current or future mass storage solution,which can be used to store information and/or instructions. Exemplarymass storage solutions include, but are not limited to, ParallelAdvanced Technology Attachment (PATA) or Serial Advanced TechnologyAttachment (SATA) hard disk drives or solid-state drives (internal orexternal, e.g., having Universal Serial Bus (USB) and/or Firewireinterfaces), such as those available from Seagate (e.g., the SeagateBarracuda 7200 family) or Hitachi (e.g., the Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000),one or more optical discs, Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID)storage, such as an array of disks (e.g., SATA arrays), available fromvarious vendors including Dot Hill Systems Corp., LaCie, NexsanTechnologies, Inc. and Enhance Technology, Inc.

Bus 630 communicatively couples processor(s) 605 with the other memory,storage and communication blocks. Bus 630 can be, such as a PeripheralComponent Interconnect (PCI)/PCI Extended (PCI-X) bus, Small ComputerSystem Interface (SCSI), USB or the like, for connecting expansioncards, drives and other subsystems as well as other buses, such a frontside bus (FSB), which connects processor 605 to system memory.

Optionally, operator and administrative interfaces, such as a display,keyboard, and a cursor control device, may also be coupled to bus 630 tosupport direct operator interaction with computer system 600. Otheroperator and administrative interfaces can be provided through networkconnections connected through communication port 610.

Removable storage media 640 can be any kind of external hard-drives,floppy drives, IOMEGA® Zip Drives, Compact Disc-Read Only Memory(CD-ROM), Compact Disc-Re-Writable (CD-RW), Digital Video Disk-Read OnlyMemory (DVD-ROM).

Components described above are meant only to exemplify variouspossibilities. In no way should the aforementioned exemplary computersystem limit the scope of the present disclosure.

In the foregoing description of the embodiments, various features aregrouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting that the claimed embodiments have more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Description of the Embodiments, with each claimstanding on its own as a separate exemplary embodiment.

While embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated anddescribed, it will be clear that the invention is not limited to theseembodiments only. Numerous modifications, changes, variations,substitutions, and equivalents will be apparent to those skilled in theart, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, asdescribed in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for implementing application layersecurity comprising: an application type detection module configured toreceive an application layer packet and determine an application typewith which the application layer packet is associated; an applicationfield retrieval module configured to retrieve one or more informationfields based on the application type, wherein the retrieved informationfields are indicative of an end user with which the application layerpacket is associated; an end user identification module configured todetermine the identity of the end user based on the retrievedinformation fields; a security rule identification module configured toidentify one or more applicable security rules based on the determinedapplication type and the identity of the end user; and a security policyimplementation module configured to apply the one or more applicablesecurity rules to the application layer packet.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein a plurality of security rules from which the one or moreapplicable security rules are selected are stored in a database, andwherein the database is operatively coupled with said security ruleextraction module.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the applicationtype comprises one or more of HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP),Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP),Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP), Structured Query Language (SQL),Real-Time Publish-Subscribe Protocol (RTPS), Secure Shell protocol(SSH), File transfer Protocol (FTP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol(SMTP), HTTPS, Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), Secure SocketsLayer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS), Session Layer protocols(SLP), Presentation Layer protocols (PLP), Post Office Protocol (POP),Advanced Program-to-Program Communication (APPC), Advanced MessageQueuing Protocol (AMQP), Coherent File Distribution Protocol (CFDP),Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP), Data Distribution Service(DDS), Endpoint Handle space Redundancy Protocol (ENRP), UserInformation Protocol (UIP), File Transfer Access and Management (FTAM),Packet-Based Multimedia Communications System (H.323), Internet RelayChat Protocol (IRCP), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), LinePrinter Daemon Protocol (LPD), Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions(MIME), Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME), NetworkFile System (NFS), Network Information Service (NIS), Network NewsTransfer Protocol (NNTP), National Transportation Communications forIntelligent Transportation System Protocol (NTCIP), Network TimeProtocol (NTP), Peer Name Resolution Protocol (PNRP), Remote DesktopProtocol (RDP), Reliable Event Logging Protocol (RELP), RoutingInformation Protocol (RIP), Remote Login in UNIX Systems (Rlogin),Remote Procedure Call (RPC), Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), RealTime Publish Subscribe (RTPS), Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP),Session Announcement Protocol (SAP), Session Description Protocol (SDP),Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Service Location Protocol (SLP),Server Message Block (SMB), Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP), SecureSMS Messaging Protocol (SSMS), Transaction Capabilities Application Part(TCAP), Tabular Data Stream (TDS), Time Stamp Protocol (TSP), VirtualTerminal Protocol (VTP), Remote Directory Access Protocol, MessageHandling Service Protocol, Directory Access Protocol (DAP), andExtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP).
 4. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the retrieved information fields comprise oneX-Forwarded-For (XFF), X-Forwarded-Proto, Front-End-HTTPs,X-Wap-Profile, X-Requested-With, SIP Address, and X-Remote-Address. 5.The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more applicable security rulesare configured to block the application layer packet, allow theapplication layer packet, or implement a configuration setting on theapplication layer packet.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one ormore applicable security rules cause a single sign-on process to beperformed, which authenticates the identified end user and authorizesthe identified end user to access a particular resource.
 7. The systemof claim 6, further comprising a user authentication proxy logicallyinterposed between the end user and a web server for performing thesingle sign-on process.
 8. A method for implementing application layersecurity comprising: receiving, by a network appliance, a packet;determining, by the network appliance, an application type with whichthe packet is associated; extracting, by the network appliance, one ormore information fields from application layer information within thepacket that are indicative of an identity of an end user with which thepacket is associated; identifying, by the network appliance, one or moreapplicable security rules based on the application type and the one ormore information fields; and applying, by the network appliance, the oneor more applicable security rules to the packet.
 9. The method of claim8, wherein a plurality of security rules from which the one or moreapplicable security rules are selected are stored in a databaseoperatively coupled with the network appliance.
 10. The method of claim8, wherein the application type comprises one or more of HyperTextTransfer Protocol (HTTP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Simple MailTransfer Protocol (SMTP), Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP), StructuredQuery Language (SQL), Real-Time Publish-Subscribe Protocol (RTPS),Secure Shell protocol (SSH), File transfer Protocol (FTP), Simple MailTransfer Protocol (SMTP), HTTPS, Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP),Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS), SessionLayer protocols (SLP), Presentation Layer protocols (PLP), Post OfficeProtocol (POP), Advanced Program-to-Program Communication (APPC),Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP), Coherent File DistributionProtocol (CFDP), Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP), DataDistribution Service (DDS), Endpoint Handle space Redundancy Protocol(ENRP), User Information Protocol (UIP), File Transfer Access andManagement (FTAM), Packet-Based Multimedia Communications System(H.323), Internet Relay Chat Protocol (IRCP), Lightweight DirectoryAccess Protocol (LDAP), Line Printer Daemon Protocol (LPD), MultipurposeInternet Mail Extensions (MIME), Secure/Multipurpose Internet MailExtensions (S/MIME), Network File System (NFS), Network InformationService (NIS), Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP), NationalTransportation Communications for Intelligent Transportation SystemProtocol (NTCIP), Network Time Protocol (NTP), Peer Name ResolutionProtocol (PNRP), Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), Reliable Event LoggingProtocol (RELP), Routing Information Protocol (RIP), Remote Login inUNIX Systems (Rlogin), Remote Procedure Call (RPC), Real Time MessagingProtocol (RTMP), Real Time Publish Subscribe (RTPS), Real Time StreamingProtocol (RTSP), Session Announcement Protocol (SAP), SessionDescription Protocol (SDP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), ServiceLocation Protocol (SLP), Server Message Block (SMB), Simple Network TimeProtocol (SNTP), Secure SMS Messaging Protocol (SSMS), TransactionCapabilities Application Part (TCAP), Tabular Data Stream (TDS), TimeStamp Protocol (TSP), Virtual Terminal Protocol (VTP), Remote DirectoryAccess Protocol, Message Handling Service Protocol, Directory AccessProtocol (DAP), and Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP).11. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more information fieldscomprise one or more of an X-Forwarded-For (XFF) field, anX-Forwarded-Proto field, a Front-End-HTTPs ield, an X-Wap-Profile field,an X-Requested-With field, and an X-Remote-Address field.
 12. The methodof claim 8, wherein the one or more applicable security rules areconfigured to block the packet, allow the packet or implement aconfiguration setting on the packet.
 13. The method of claim 8, whereinthe one or more applicable security rules cause a single sign-on processto be performed, which authenticates the identified end user andauthorizes the identified end user to access a particular resource. 14.The method of claim 13, wherein the single sign-on process is performedby a user authentication proxy logically interposed between the end userand the network appliance.